The same thing hits me about those preview pages that are up today, the ninja man-bats just aren’t absurdly “ninja-y” enough (think the Samurai robots in Nextwave for example). I do like the how the art in the background is juxtaposed with the battle in the foreground but that sequence comes out as being a bit “off” as well.

Just a thought.

Morrison’s writing was also disappointing to me, too, probably from the lack of crazy ideas or intense action. It’s clearly setup for the ninja were-bats next issue, but besides the opening that won’t last as long as Magneto’s death did, the comic just wasn’t energetic. Kubert’s sometimes wonky, sometimes effective panel composition made the issue dynamic, certainly, but Morrison didn’t really have any of the dynamicism inherent. The craziest idea was relating Batman to a Joker crazed Gordon when both made the same joke, and it was little more than a gag, at least in the plot if not thematically.

I would second the motion that Dini’s debut was much more impressive, but that’s largely becuase I have a man-crush on J. H. Williams III and he didn’t disappoint.

This issue hit a lot of beats I would’ve hit in my surely-eventual-I-swear Batman run, such as learning to be Bruce Wayne again, and ridding Gotham of all its crime (though mine was an ongoing plot of that, rather than a sentence of exposition), so I can’t complain too much. Also, Bat-Poles.

But the art was pretty bad, and the opening sequence was messy. It wasn’t the perfect comic I’d been hoping for.

Anyway, I decided this whole issue is some sort of wacky future tale, like a Batman Elseworlds. I mean, Batman’s rid Gotham of all its crime? WTF?! And the tossing-the-still-living Joker in the trash? While that’s what some of us might want for its emotional payoff, didn’t DC just go through a two years of Crises (and dreadful associated tie-ins) to prove that heroes don’t act that way? Bruce’s unyielding stance against Diana for snapping Max Lord’s neck doesn’t mean anything if he can toss anybody, even a seriously wounded Joker, into a trash heap. At least Max was still a threat when Diana offed him.

Having said that (and I’m growing more disgruntled about the issue the more I reflect on it), it’s Morrison’s little touches that always impress. Like, yes, Alfred feeding the bats. And, even better, Bruce sleeping alone in the middle of the day, cuddling a body pillow. So: I’m not a big fan of Kubert and I’m not sure why the editors are letting Morrison run amok, but I’ll hang in there for now.

I read this review after I wrote mine, but it’s strange how closely we are aligned in our opinions. It will be up later today.

It’s a decent start and all, but Dini’s issue blew this one out of the water. Instead of wasting a chunk of the book giving an in-story reason for a change in the Bruce Wayne depiction, Dini just showed us a new Bruce Wayne depiction. Also, Dini gave us a much more engaging Bruce Wayne as playboy performance and made it look effortless and intriguing.

Kubert was definitely the strong part of the book for me.